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Saturday, July 2, 2011

50 books down, 50 to go...

At the start of the year, I set myself a goal to read 100 books in 2011. I know some people read more than that, but for most people, that's a lot - and for me it's a big target, especially as I have a full-time job that can take up a good 60-70 hours a week, plus freelance writing and many other commitments on top of that. So it's not like I have a lot of leisure time to read. But I am a fast reader, and I do love it.

I've also got into the habit of reading almost every day, even if it's only a few chapters, so it seemed like a 100 books goal was achievable, if still difficult. I estimate I read about 70 novels last year - I'd have weeks where I read three or four books, and weeks where I read none. So I thought if I could average two books per week, then my 100 books target would be achievable.

And hey, even if I didn't make it, I'd still have plenty of fun getting to 60, 70, 80 books, or wherever I ended up, after all. I'm pleased to say, as we've just ticked over halfway through the year, that I am bang on target. I started my 51st book yesterday (1 July). In six months I read 50 books. Not bad. I'm also trying to include plenty of new-to-me readers.

Here's the line-up thusfar (in some semblance of reading order):

LAST CAR TO ELYSIAN FIELDS by James Lee Burke

IN PLAIN SIGHT by CJ Box

PROMISED LAND by David Hewson

THE EXECUTIONER by Jay Bennett

THE TIN ROOF BLOWDOWN by James Lee Burke

BURIED ALIVE by J. A. Kerley

BOUND by Vanda Symon

STILL MISSING by Chevy Stevens

SHATTER THE BONES by Stuart MacBride

FOLLOW THE MONEY by Peter Corris

BORDERLANDS by Brian McGilloway

A POLITICAL AFFAIR by Andrew Porteous

THE MOON & FARMER MCPHEE by Margaret Mahy

THE SENTRY by Robert Crais

HOLLYWOOD HILLS by Joseph Wambaugh

FRIENDLY FIRE by Michael Wall

SHAOLIN BURNING by Ant Sang

LIVE WIRE by Harlan Coben

YOU'RE NEXT by Gregg Hurwitz

CANDIED CRIME by Dorte Jakobsen

THE CRIME OF HUEY DUNSTAN by James McNeish

LOVE YOU MORE by Lisa Gardner

THE FIFTH WITNESS by Michael Connelly

MIXED BLOOD by Roger Smith

PAYBACK by Simon Kernick

SHADOW SISTER by Simone van der Vlugt

SMILING JACK by Ken Catran

CURLY FROM SHIRLEY by Emma Pullar

CITY OF BONES by Michael Connelly

THE JANISSARY TREE by Jason Goodwin

DROP SHOT by Harlan Coben

BLACK WATER by T. Jefferson Parker

THE ATHENIAN MURDERS by Jose Carlos Somoza

NO OPPORTUNITY WASTED by Phil Keoghan

CARTE BLANCHE by Jeffery Deaver

IRON HOUSE by John Hart

KILLING HOUR by Andrew Gross

LIFE'S GOLDEN TICKET by Brendan Burchard

BLEACHERS by John Grisham

THE KILLING PLACE by Tess Gerritsen

THE WRECKAGE by Michael Robotham

MYSTERY by Jonathan Kellerman

EXACERBYTE by Cat Connor

IT'S NOT HOW GOOD YOU ARE, IT'S HOW GOOD YOU WANT TO BE by Paul Arden

RED WOLF by Liza Marklund

THEODORE BOONE: THE ADBUCTION by John Grisham

BACK OF BEYOND by CJ Box

THE TROUBLED MAN by Henning Mankell

BY ANY MEANS by Ben Sanders

LETHAL DELIVERIES by Kenn Benn

That's the fifty books so far. I also read about five in the last few days of 2010, just before the New Year ticked over. At a quick skim, I've read 10 New Zealand books, and 40 from overseas (not a bad split, 20% local writers). I've read 44 books that come within crime/mystery/thriller, and six others (mainly non-fiction). So 88% of my reading this year has been crime/thriller - that perhaps is a little high, and I might have to purposely read a few other things to keep balance, although I'm happy with 75% or so being crime, because it's a genre I love reading. But it's always good to get some perspective too.

In terms of diversity of authors, I've read books by authors from New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, USA, England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Canada, Denmark and Spain. The books have been set in even more countries, as some authors have set books in other countries (eg British author Simon Kernick's book is set in the Phillipines, Jason Goodwin's book in 1830s Turkey, etc).

There were also 27 new-to-me authors in the 50 books (and 46 authors), which is great. The only authors to feature more than once so far are James Lee Burke, Michael Connelly, Harlan Coben, and John Grisham (interestingly, in the latter case, neither book was one of the adult legal thrillers he's most famous for).